Do Housing Authority of KCMO vouchers work in Independence?

Question

Hello all!

If a tenant has a housing choice voucher (Section 8) from the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Missouri, do they have to use that voucher on a property inside the KCMO city limits, or does it also work outside the KCMO city limits - like in Independence, Blue Springs, Raytown, etc?

I have Googled a little and found that there is a thing called "portability", where a tenant with a voucher from one housing authority can apply to have it transferred to another housing authority, if the tenant wants to move to the other housing authority's service area.  I can't find a definite statement, but I get the impression this might only be for relatively long-distance moves.

I know there is a separate housing agency for Independence, Independence Housing Authority. I have found one reference that claims that IHA "serves all of Jackson County", but I don't know whether that means all of Jackson County, or "all of Jackson County outside of KCMO".

I tried to ask HAKC but the voicemail box I got was not accepting messages.  I sent them an email as well, but I thought I'd also ask here.

Thanks!

Matt R.

Jennifer Donley · Answer

@Matt R. I am across I-70 from you in St Louis and have a portfolio of Section 8 tenants.  We have a city Housing Authority and a County one and here, tenants can take their voucher to anywhere in St Louis city or county and stay with the same HA.  The tenants typically know this though - have you asked the tenant?

Also our HAs here are easiest to get reach via email - have you tried that? And I am not afraid to HOUND the staff there (daily emails, wiht ever more urgent and CAPITAL letters with each day's email) if I'm not getting an answer.

Steve Morris · Answer

Depends on what KC H/A will authorize.  I'm assuming you have a market-rate property and an app is presenting a voucher?

In Portland, HomeForward (a city of Portland entity) will issue vouchers outside Portland, but very rarely go past the county line since that's a diff H/A.

Alex Olson · Answer

@Matt R. What reason are you asking? Are you a property owner in kansas city considering renting to section 8? Do you accept section 8 currently and want to ensure you are being paid? Best thing to do is to call the KC housing authority and your local housing authority and find out what the steps are. Having some more context to why you are asking the question, will help us understand how to approach. Hope that helps!

Matt R. · Answer

Update: I called the Independence Housing Authority on Monday and got a human.  They told me that Independence cooperates with the housing authorities in Kansas City MO, and Lee's Summit; vouchers from any of those agencies will work in the other agency's areas.  They also said that there are a few rural/outlying areas in Jackson County where the vouchers won't work.  I don't think the voucher holder has to "port" their voucher to the housing agency that covers the area they want to go to; they just apply to properties they are interested in.

For people from the future:

The Independence HA's "contact" page is currently here: https://www.independenceha.org...

The HA KC voucher program is currently here: http://www.hakc.org/voucher_pr...  (If that changes, go to their main voucher/Section 8 page, and then try the "Announcements" link if there is one; that's the path to it now.)

Matt R. · Answer

@Jennifer Donley I haven't asked any of the prospective tenants.  I emailed the KC housing authority yesterday, but I haven't contacted the Independence one yet; I will probably do that later this afternoon.  I might re-send the email to the KC authority as well.

Matt R. · Answer

@Alex Olson I own a property in Independence and prospective tenants are asking about using vouchers from the Housing Authority of KC at my property.

I called HAKC's main number and the auto-attendant suggests I call the the voucher holder's case worker.  It then goes into hold music, but I didn't stay on the line with that very long.  I found the case worker's direct number on HAKC's site and called them; their voicemail is not accepting messages.  I sent an email to the case worker and I haven't heard back yet.  I haven't tried contacting the Independence housing authority yet, but I will probably do that later today.

@Steve Morris You assumed correctly - the property is market rate, but prospective tenants with vouchers are asking about it.  In my case, everything is in the same county, but two different cities.  There is a housing authority in each city involved, but I'm not sure how their jurisdictions work.

Do Housing Authority of KCMO vouchers work in Independence?

Most Popular Reply